Freshly signed to the
Hopeless Records
roster, Baltimore indie rockers
Have Mercy
deliver their second LP,
A Place of Our Own
. Building on the platform of their strong 2013 debut
The Earth Pushed Back
, they offer a blend of thoughtful, introspective songwriting with elements of post-hardcore, emo, and mainstream indie. Cleaner and more straightforward than their debut,
dials down some of the aggression in favor of craftsmanship and warmth, even adding a solo acoustic track ("Inch by Inch") by singer/guitarist
Brian Swindle
. Still, in spite of some of the more laid-back elements, there are plenty of rock moments, with most of the tracks constructed to build slowly toward an epic payoff.
Swindle
has not abandoned his throaty emo howl, though it's not without a more sentimental feeling this time around. ~ Timothy Monger